Apex Headache Clinic have cleared my migraines!
38-year-old CrossFit gym owner Dave Adams from Lisburn, suffered with migraines for 9 years which stopped him from training at his best and enjoying something he loved. Getting no relief from medication, David visited Apex Headache Clinic in the hope of getting to the source of the problem. Here, he shares how the clinic’s unique regime of specialist manual physiotherapy treatment for migraines and headaches, called The Nelson Headache Approach™, cleared his migraines allowing him to train without holding back.
Dave, when did your migraines begin?
My migraines began around 9 years ago. I do a lot of CrossFit training and I started to notice that after training, around an hour later I would take a migraine. I would get blurry vision, pain around my eyes and start to feel nauseous. I went to my doctor who prescribed me with preventative medication to take and also medication to take when I felt a migraine coming on, however the medication didn’t change the severity or frequency of my migraines at all.
How did the pain affect your life?
My migraines were so sporadic, I could have 3 in one week or I could go a few weeks without getting one. This left me with a constant fear hanging over me that I would get a migraine and I didn’t know when it would happen. I continued to tolerate them through my training because I love training so much, but I would find myself holding back in fear of bringing a migraine on. I own a CrossFit gym and after I had trained, if I had planned to coach a class or was to pick my kids up from school, taking a migraine was a disaster. I found that the only relief I could get was from lying down until it had passed which could take up to 4 hours.
What led you to Apex Headache Clinic?
Apex Headache Clinic was recommended to me by someone I knew who was attending themselves. I then googled the clinic and read a bit about it. At that point the frequency of my migraines had increased and they began happening not just after training but out of the blue and I thought I need to do something about this.
How has your life changed since having treatment?
I haven’t had a migraine in 4 months which has been totally great! Initially, the treatment seemed to be reducing the frequency of my migraines, but it was hard to tell because of the sporadic nature of them. After a few weeks I noticed that I hadn’t had a migraine in around 3 weeks. As treatment with my specialist physiotherapist continued, I had the odd migraine here and there, but it was significantly less severe and would only last around 20 minutes with some blurred vision. I wouldn’t need to take any migraine medication and could continue with my day quite quickly. I now attend once every 5 weeks to keep my migraines away and I find that the manual physiotherapy treatment has been the one thing that has given me the most relief out of everything that I have tried.
What advice would you offer someone suffering from migraines?
I was sceptical at the beginning of my treatment as it was so gentle that I thought, could they really be doing anything? However, I would say to trust the process as the results I have gained are more than worth it!
To book an appointment at Apex Headache Clinic, call 028 9048 4153. No GP referral is necessary.